I have to admit that I’ve always been somewhat intrigued by Android Wear devices. Some of them, like the Moto 360, look genuinely interesting to me. Unfortunately, none of these devices are compatible with the iPhone.

That looks like it might be changing soon, however, as Mohammad Abu-Garbeyyeh, a Cydia developer who’s responsible for jailbreak tweaks like DoubleTapToSleep and SpotlightSiri, has come up with a standalone solution for iPhone owners who want to use Android Wear devices.

As you can see from the video above, that’s an iOS Messages app notification sent directly to the Moto 360, a flagship Android Wear device. In previous versions of his creation, an actual Android device was needed as a middle-man of sorts between the iPhone and the smartwatch, but that requirement appears to have been eliminated.

Interestingly enough, Abu-Garbeyyeh is able to do all of this without requiring any hacks or jailbreaks on the iOS side of things. All that’s needed is an APK to be installed on the Android Wear device.

Communication is thus accomplished by means of the Apple Notification Center Service, or ANCS for short. ANCS gives Bluetooth low-energy compatible accessories an easy way to access a variety of notifications generated on iOS devices. For some context, it’s what the Pebble Watch uses to receive push notifications currently.

That’s good news, as it means that even non-jailbroken iPhone owners can receive notifications on their Android Wear devices if and when the APK is released. Unfortunately, ANCS is quite limited in scope, and doesn’t allow users to benefit from more advanced interactions between two devices. It’s basically just a dump for notifications, as two-way communication is limited. Pebble owners can attest to this fact.

But that’s where things get interesting. Seeing as Abu-Garbeyyeh is a developer in the jailbreak community, then the potential is there for him to develop a jailbreak tweak on the iOS side of things to up the ante with regard to iPhone to Android Wear communication. It’s been done before with the Pebble watch, and it can no doubt be done again with Android Wear devices like the Moto 360.

As of now, the APK doesn’t appear to have an official name, and the project remains closed source. Abu-Garbeyyeh is still debating on whether or not to open source it, and it appears that a release date remains vague.

Would you be interested in having iPhone notifications on an Android Wear device? Would that make you consider using Android Wear, or is this just a blip on your radar with the Apple Watch on the horizon?

Related Topics

I’ve been itching for an actual smartwatch if only this had been released not so soon to the imminent Apple Watch then I would have bought a 360 or LG for meanwhile!

Merman123

Same here. I’ve been close to buying a pebble a couple of times when I’m at the store. Apple Watch can’t come any sooner…

Black Jesus

What’s the tweak is he using for the status bar notification..

Merman123

OpenNotifier

Black Jesus

Is it updated for iOS 8?

Gabriel Anaya

It’s on an iPhone 6.
What do you think.

1337lolzorz

A simple yes would have sufficed

Merman123

Yes but you must use the one on Tateu’s repo.

@dongiuj

Personally I’m not interested in smartwatches but I think it’s good that this guy is doing this. Allowing the consumer to have more choices is always a good thing instead being dictated by a single company. Hope it opens up more developers to do the same with more devices…as long as there’s nothing dodgy about it eg: virus etc.

Cho

Interested in this. Thanks!!

Lagax

I don’t know what you mean by “ANCS is quite limited”, it’s very powerful, even quick reply (“interactive notifications”) can be done (the 3 words that iOS gives you, not everything like with the quick reply for iMessage)…

Well, it’s limited in the sense that you can’t perform advanced interactions between devices. I mean, just use a Pebble Watch for a while, and the limitations begin to arise fairly quickly.

Straightshoota

My pebble has a lot of interactions that can be made. From fitness apps to controlling my phone functions. Siri, activator, pandora ESPN. Weather, fitness tracking apps (misfit! I love it.) I guess if I want to reply to a text I’m going to use my phone anyway, most threads have more than 1 response in a conversation. I do sometimes wish for a mic on it to say hello when I andw my phone from the watch. I don’t think the pebble gets enough praise for how simple yet functional it is. Huh sounds like a jobs recipe for success simple+functional= $ I’m excited for Tuesday even with the apple watch looming with its luxurious price tag.

Lagax

Hmm, could you give any examples?

sriram varadarajulu

f*** apple watch that shit is too expensive.. this however looks like a better alternative

Rowan09

It’s $300

Dhoklastellar Fafda®™

$300 is supposed to be cheap? For a device that’ll be outdated in just 1 year? Are you kidding your feeble brain?

Rowan09

Apparently your “feeble brain” couldn’t understand that I was saying it’s not cheap. I believe it was $349 when released which is the same price the Apple Watch is suppose to start with. This outdated in 1 year nonsense doesn’t make much sense either because I have the original pebble watch and it works fine and still not outdated. If all fails it will do the same thing other watches do and that’s tell time.

Dhoklastellar Fafda®™

Yeah right, you’ll be wearing that fooking pebble in 2017. I know you would. Suuuuure.

Niclas

People still use the iphone 4, of course he could.

Rowan09

Why wouldn’t i? If it’s no longer supported it will always tell the time. Am I to throw it away? Adding smart in front of a watch doesn’t make it less of a watch you know.

dudewassup

I really want this watch, it looks so classy in my opinion. I would love for it to gain iPhone support, if the dev is reading this.

nvog

I really like the idea and now I most welcome a fully connected iphone 6 communicating 100% with my moto360 (for now just a time piece).

I just hope they make it simple and not only for rooted/jailbroken devices…

Niclas

“Android Wear connected to iOS directly, using ANCS (same as what the Pebble
uses). No jailbreak on iOS or root on the watch necessary.”

Hmm. If it’s possible why hasn’t Google done it themselves? They’re usually quite good at supporting all devicesb/ OSs…

Ethan Humphrey

How would you install the APK without an android device?

Benedict

I guess you sideload the .apk with so called ADB via USB.

Niclas

No

Jeffrey

This man is my f*cking hero! I’ve wanted a Moto 360 to go with my iPhone 6 for so long! The recently announced LG G Watch Urbane looks sleek too though… Think I’m just gonna wait for the Moto 360 2nd gen announcement before I decide what to do, but if this APK will become available, and if someone might release a Cydia tweak to make it even more compatible, I’m definitely gonna buy an Android Wear watch!

George

It’s so sad that the apple watch looks so ugly that a cydia developer had to go and do this lmfao.

Benedict

btw MohammadAG is also developing for Android for a long time. Guess that’s why he is familiar with both OSs..